REST IN PEACE FR. MARTIN WELS, SVD

(continue from homepage)In the Homily, Fr. Conrad highlighted the life of Fr. Wels and his work in Ghana and said this is a moment where we thank God for his life and those who encouraged and supported him in the missions and also pray for his reposed soul. Before ending the homily with a death poem, Fr. Conrad encouraged us with the good example of Fr. Wels and prayed God to receive his soul and also to console the bereaved by quoting Fr. Wels in his congratulatory letter at his 50th Anniversary with Fr. Hahn: “everywhere you leave your good tracks. With the other Divine Word Missionaries in Ghana you wrote a History of the Mission. What do the missionaries leave behind at the first hour? No big words, no thick books, but the courageous example of entire devotion to Christ in the people. Like yesterday, even now today and in the future, the mission in GHANA belongs to the brave who dare the impossible and are also children of the light on a dark night!” After the Mass we accompanied our dearly departed to his final resting place in the cemetery of the Mission House, Sankt Wendel. This ceremony was presided over by Fr. Heck Oliver. From the cemetery we gathered to have a cup of coffee and cake. Missionary in Accra Fr. Wels received his first mission appointment with Fr. Friedrich Hahn to Ghana - the then Gold Coast as the first German missionaries, who were approved by the British colonial government to Gold-Coast after the war, he said. Fr. Wels worked devotedly in Accra and Tema in the Archdiocese of Accra-Ghana. In 1958 he was administrator of the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra. He accompanied and supported many brother candidates as novice master and also many parishioners in the course of his ministry. Through his work many people were inspired and found their way to the priestly and religious life. From 1980 to 1994 he worked diligently in Christ the King parish in Accra. In 1999, Fr. Wels retired and went to Ashaiman and then later to Abeka, where he was in residence and helping out until he returned to Germany in 2010. Among his confreres in the retirement home at St. Wendel, he was a missionary, praying and thanking God for his blessings and the protection of the blessed Virgin, whom he admired so much. CURRICULUM Fr. Wels was born on 24/11/1921 in Isnerberg, Diocese of Augsburg by his parents Martin and Magdalena. Wels attended with his two-year-older sister Leni the local elementary school and then later in 1935 continued at the Divine Word Missionaries High school at St. Johann Blönried. On 30.3.1940 he began his novitiate in St. Augustine to become Divine Word Missionary. But soon he became a soldier in the World War II in Russia. At the end of the war he was in American captivity. By 1945, he was released and could continue studying in St. Augustin, Germany. On 08/09/1947 he took his first vows. After his philosophical and theological studies, he professed perpetual vows on 09/03/1951. In the same year, on 26 August he was ordained a priest in St. Augustine. From 1951 to 1953 he studied English in Liverpool. 1953 to 2010 he worked in Ghana as a dedicated missionary and 2010 returned to Germany. "He was a man of God and the people. He starts and ends a day never without a prayer. A man blessed with simplicity and generosity!" Archbishop Ermeritus Andoh of blessed memory at the Farewell Gathering in honour of Fr. Wels before he returned to Germany in 2010. Frt. Pius Oduro, svd

TributesI have known Fr. Wels quite well because he often came to Agomanya to give talks to the HDR sisters. There he was also my spiritual director. I am convinced that God has called His faithful servant to be very near Him. May Fr. Martin be a faithful intercessor with Jesus for Ghana and for all of us left behind! Sr. Christa Monica Oberweis SSpS

In a letter to benefactors of Fr. Wels the Mission Procure in St. Augustin honoured “the Veteran from the Gold Coast” as simple, modest, correct and reliable; a good and faithful worker in the vineyard of the Lord. “You, dear friends, have supported Fr. Wels´ missionary endeavors in Africa for almost six decades. Together with him you have contributed to al lot of good. The Divine Word Missionaries are grateful for his faithful service in Ghana. They thank his relatives and friends, who were missionaries in Africa together with him and who continue his good work beyond his death.” Fr. Gerd Lesch SVD, Superior Delegatus, Germany